For educators: activity sessions for fundamental movement skills

Plan a structure fundamental movement skills session to help children learn, practice and master skills.

This page is part of the Kids at Play Active Play program.

Intentional teaching

Most children don’t automatically learn fundamental movement skills (FMS). From the age of 3 to 3.5, they need to be intentionally taught these skills to give them the best chance to learn and master each skill.

This helps them to be confident to join in all active play opportunities, either with friends or in organised sport.

Activity session

Find a safe space for your session with room to move and one that's free from distractions such as other children playing.

Follow these suggested steps:

1. Warm up.
2. Intentionally teach a fundamental movement skill.
3. Play a game to practise and consolidate the FMS you taught.
4. Free play, where children can continue practicing the new skill if they wish.
5. Cool down.

Warming up

It’s best to start a structured activity session with a five minute warm-up activity and finish with a five minute cool down activity.

The warm-up helps children prepare muscles for playing games, while cooling down relaxes muscles and gives them time to calm down before moving onto other activities.

Warm-ups should take place in a large, cleared space, inside or outdoors, depending on what space is available to you.

A good way to start the warm-up is with an action song, followed by a bending, stretching, twisting or balancing activity.

Action songs

• Heads and shoulders, knees and toes
• Hokey pokey
• Chicken dance

Movement ideas

• Toe touch and sky reach – stand with feet apart and the knees slightly bent. Bend forward and try to touch ankles or toes then walk fingers up the legs and stretch up to reach for the sky as high. Repeat.
• Body twists – stand with legs apart and hands on the hips. Keeping the hips still, rotate the upper body to face the right and hold this position for 5 seconds, then return body to the front. Repeat this on the left side and repeat the whole activity again.
• Ankle movement – sitting down and moving at the ankle only, draw a circle with the right foot in one direction 5 times one way, then 5 times the other. Repeat with left ankle.
• Sky reaches – stretch one arm up to the sky, then stretch the other arm up to the sky and repeat.
• Shoulder shrugs – shrug shoulders up and down and repeat.
• Shoulder rolls – roll the shoulders forward and backward and repeat
• Jelly shake – shake each arm, then each leg, then wiggle the whole body like jelly
• Belly button circles – pretend the bellybutton is the middle of a circle. Do three circles to the right then three circles to the left as if using a hula hoop. Repeat the belly button circles, but this time start with three circles to the left then three circles to the right.

Cooling down

Cool down in a large, cleared space, inside or outside, depending on what space is available to you.

The cool down can also start with an action song, followed by a transition activity and then a relaxation activity to help settle and relax the children.

Action song

'Cockatoo is flapping, flapping, flapping. Cockatoo is flapping, flapping, flapping. The cockatoo is flapping just like this'.

Transition activity

• Play an adapted version of 'Simon says'.
• Use the usual instructions, but don't let any of the children get 'out'.
• The aim is for the children to copy you.
• Include stretching activities such as touch your toes, hop on one foot, roll your shoulders, turn your bodies.

Relaxation

• Ask the children to sit down and breathe deeply and slowly in and out.
• Encourage them by saying slowly 'breathe in through your nose, breathe out through your mouth'.
• While in the sitting or lying position, ask the children to close their eyes, stretch their arms out in front and reach to the sky while inhaling.
• Bring the arms down while exhaling.
• You could also suggest the children curl up on the floor with eyes shut and simply rest for a short while.

Further learning

To increase your knowledge on fundamental movement skills sessions complete the free Kids at Play Active Play online professional learning course.